📰Object Panel

Displays objects and channels in lists and hierarchies

The Timeflow view displays individual or lists of objects and channels. This is optimized for workflow to quickly switch between objects or saved lists as needed.

The Switches panel on the left is covered in a later section.

Adding Objects

Objects are added to the Timeflow view by selecting them in the hierarchy and clicking the button Add Selected to append the objects to the view, or Show Selected Only to clear the view and show only the selected objects.

You can also drag and drop game objects from the Hierarchy view into the Timeline object panel to add them to the current display.

Use the keyboard shortcut Alt + ~ to view selected objects.

There is no limit to the number of objects that can be viewed at once in Timeflow and it can display long lists, however displaying a lot of animated channels at once can have an impact on editor performance due to the amount of UI drawing that may be involved. Therefore for optimal performance in the editor, it is encouraged to view one or a few objects at a time and switch between the view using shortcuts and Display Lists.

Locking the Display

To stay focused on the current objects displayed and prevent changes to the list, click the lock icon in the upper right. While locked, the list of objects remains in the view and can be edited as usual, however no other objects may be viewed or added.

Renaming

Objects and channels can be renamed in the object panel by clicking on the name and pressing the Enter key on the keyboard or number pad. This displays a text field to edit the game object or channel name.

Renaming can also be initiated with the keyboard shortcut Control + R.

While the name field is active, press Tab to continue editing the next object below it, or Shift + Tab to go back.

Channels may be renamed if desired which has no effect on function or property mappings. To reset a channel name, use the context menu or alternatively if the name is cleared (by entering an empty string) then the channel reverts to its original name.

Reordering

Objects and channels can be reordered in the object panel by dragging and dropping them in the order desired. This can be done individually or with multiple selected channels/objects.

If the intention is to reorder objects (not select them with the marquee) click towards the left side of the object closer to or on its name. If the click and drag is further right in the empty space, a selection marquee is drawn instead.

While dragging, the selected objects are displayed as a transparent green copy following the mouse until released. A thick green line between object names indicates the target placement.

Canceling Drag

To stop any drag operation without committing changes, press Esc, or release the objects back onto themselves or outside of the object panel.

Reordering the Hierarchy

When dragging to reorder objects, it is also possible to parent them to another object by dragging directly onto the object, rather than between. The green line indicating the insertion point indents to the right further when reparenting.

If you do not intend to reparent objects, be sure to drag until the blue line position is aligned to the left, directly under or above the object you want to place it next to.

Drag Duplicate

Objects can be duplicated when dragging by holding the Alt key. A plus sign ( + ) is shown in front of object names to indicate a copy operation. The duplicates are created only once the drag is released.

Showing and Hiding Children

Objects in Timeflow have the ability to hide children from the view. This can be helpful to reduce clutter when working with hierarchies. Next to each object is a foldout arrow, which collapses to hide or show its children and channels.

Hide Children but Show Channels

Sometimes it is helpful to hide children when working with channels on the parent object. To do this, hold the Control key and click the foldout arrow to toggle child display on and off.

Notice that the foldout arrow next to Group has a white plus icon, indicating that it has children hidden from view.

With this mode enabled, only the object's channels are displayed in view while the children remain hidden. The foldout arrow can still be used normally to toggle viewing the channels on the object. Control click again on the foldout to unhide the children.

Hiding children does not in any way remove or change behaviors, only hides them from view so you can work more effectively with the parent object.

In the inspector this correlates to the checkbox Display Children under Tracks.

For more commands and menu options related to objects, see Object Menu.